Twenty to Life
by Rose Kathryns
Summary: Modern AU, Merlin gets thrown into prison and everyone wants to know why. He seems small and defenseless, but looks can be deceiving. Set inside the jail.
1. Chapter 1

Characters: Main Cast

Pairing: MerlinxArthur, MerlinxGwaine (No slash) MerlinxFreya

Summary: **Modern AU, **Merlin gets thrown into prison and everyone wants to know why. He seems small and defenseless, but looks can be deceiving.  
>Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, that would be the BBC<br>Rating: PG 13 for course language.  
><strong><br>**

_**Prologue**_  
>He was new. He wasn't meant to make friends. He wasn't meant to have fun. This wasn't a schoolyard, this was a prison sentence. That's what Merlin Ambrosius was told as he was escorted to his cell. He grunted in acknowledgement, but gave no other sign that he had heard what the warden had said. Slowly and almost peacefully, he glanced around the cement box that was his new home for what would probably be, the rest of his life. There was a man sitting on the lower bunk of the bunk beds in the room. It was the only piece of furniture. Merlin assumed this was his new cell mate.<br>"This is Gwaine. He'll be sharing this room with you. Gwaine, this is Merlin."  
>"Fine."<br>"I don't want to hear about any fighting, and even if I do, I really don't give enough fucks to change the rooming situation. You're all here because you deserve to be. You're just going to have to put up with each other."  
>With that, she turned on her heel and she slammed the bars shut.<br>"Is she always that pleasant?" Merlin asked sarcastically. Gwaine glanced over at the new arrival, sizing him up. He was skinny but toned, tall but not lanky, and he seemed far too relaxed. Obviously he had done time before.  
>"That's Morgana. Morgana Le Fey. She basically runs this shit hole; knows it too." Merlin glanced back at the doors. "Don't even think about it." Gwaine interrupted his thoughts, "She doesn't go for the cell mates, trust me, I've tried."<br>Merlin laughed quietly to the floor, and then lifted his eyes to meet Gwaine's. "This place doesn't seem so bad. It's better than the last one was anyway."  
>"Where were you before?"<br>"Cenred."  
>Gwaine took in a sharp hissing breath as Merlin climbed onto the top bunk and lay down. So he <strong>had<strong> done time before; in a maximum security no less. Standing up, Gwaine looked at his new cell mate with an intensified interest.  
>"Jesus fucking Christ man, what did you do?"<br>Merlin grinned lazily and turned his head toward the man.  
>"Oh, wouldn't you just love to know?"<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

_**One**_  
>Merlin was soon asleep. Must've been a long day Gwaine supposed. Studying the young man's face as he slept, Gwaine found it hard to believe that he could do anything that warranted Cenred. He had heard stories about that place. It was for the murderers and sadists. People with no conscience. You only ended up there if you were above - or rather below - the worst of the worst... and it was all run by a man called Emrys. Apparently Emrys was a hardcore, gang leading, mass murdering motherfucker. For this <em>kid<em> to be put in that place.. Gwaine was surprised he wasn't made someone's bitch. Or maybe he was.. A smirk pulled at Gwaine's lips, but he smothered it. He didn't make friends; he didn't **like**people. There was something about this one though, that made him think that maybe he had a chance. It was at that moment that the bars thundered open.

"Dinner."  
>"Lovely to see you too, Morgana."<br>"Gwaine, you are a prisoner. I am a warden. You won't talk to me like that. I am "warden LeFey" not Morgana. Got it? Now move your ass, and get to the mess hall."  
>"Yes ma'am." Gwaine gave her a sarcastic two fingered salute, and although she tried to hide it, Gwaine didn't miss the not-so-cruel smirk cast in his general direction. This of course set off ridiculous fantasies that played in his head until he reached the mess hall; and because of this unreasonable joy, he decided to push both doors open and enter the hall through the middle, blatantly ignoring the "In" and "Out" signs.<br>"Gwaine!" a voice called to his left. Turning, he saw everyone sitting at the regular table.  
>"Woho, looks like the gang's all here already!" several heads swiveled in Gwaine's direction, and he sighed dramatically at Arthur's raised eyebrows. "Oh come on! You all know I don't mean a <strong>gang<strong> gang! Honestly, how all of you survive in a place like this is beyond me!"  
>Waiting in line for his dinner, he let the last few tantalizing images he had created fade from his mind. There was the usual banter as he sat down, and they spoke for a while before deciding that Gwain had gone enough without being interrogated.<br>"You have a new cell mate then?" this was Leon.  
>"What's he like?" Arthur.<br>"What did he do?" Elyan.  
>"I hope you didn't do anything stupid." Lancelot.<br>As always, Percival just sat and listened.  
>Gwaine held up a silencing hand (which worked surprisingly better than usual) and grinned at the group.<br>"His name's Merlin, and before you ask I don't remember his last name." This was thrown in Leon's direction. He had a habit of looking things up on the internet that he wasn't supposed to look up. "I dunno what he did. He's been in prison before though. He seems almost nice, and I'd say he was likely to get torn apart other than the fact that the last prison he was taken to was Cenred." He let those words sink in, and watched everyone's face change. There were a few low whistles and '_holy shit_'s before Arthur managed to peel his eyes from the table and look at Gwaine.  
>"What's he look like. I need to make sure I don't piss him off."<br>This made Gwaine laugh. He sat up straighter and looked around the room, fixing his eyes on one particular spot. His grin grew. "He's there."  
>Everyone sat up and craned their necks to see who Gwaine was looking at.<br>"You're kidding me."  
>"Nope."<br>The group looked at each other with stunned expressions. Merlin was lined up for food behind Will Valient, which was never good. Valient was a downright asshole, and had a habit of picking on the new inmates. Merlin apparently, was no different. As soon as the glop of grey-brown food was piled onto his plate, Valient promptly knocked it out of Merlin's hands. The entire hall went silent, anticipating Merlin's reaction.  
>Much to the disappointment of many, he just sighed dramatically and bent over to pick up his tray. It was then that he was kneed in the stomach. Arthur winced. He knew just how strong Will was, and was betting on a few bruised ribs at least. Merlin, however, just grunted and stood up, tray still in hand.<br>"Look mate, I know you're trying to be all dominant and shit, but try something like that again and we're going to have issues." Gwaine snorted. Percival grinned. Jaws dropped. Valient had finally met his match, and was trying very hard not to look surprised.. it wasn't working.  
>"Think you're tough do you?"<br>"Your words, not mine."  
>Valient's face twisted into an ugly smirk "I know you're trying to prove your worth and shit, but say something like that to me again and we're going to have issues."<br>_Mimicking, _Merlin thought, _how pathetic._ On the outside though, he just smiled sweetly and turned to leave. "I'll keep that in mind."  
>It was the hand on his shoulder that stopped him, and turned him around. It was that hand that made him lose all patience, and it was the man who's hand it was, that was going to pay.<p>

Gwaine saw Merlin's smile drop and felt his gut clench. It was obvious that Merlin was done with this game, and he was excited to see what would happen next. One glance at the rest of his table and he knew that they felt the same. Merlin was inches away from Valient, and his eyes were icy and hard. _Fucking terrifying_Gwaine thought. The ridiculousness of this man being in Cenred seemed to lessen with every second that passed.

"It look's like I'm going to have to teach you a lesson in respect **newbie**." both of his hand were now on Merlin's shoulders.  
>"I feel like you've gotten us mixed up."<br>"Excuse me?"  
>"You need to learn to respect your superiors. I'd think that, since you seem so keen to teach others, that you'd follow it yourself."<br>There were general mutters of disbelief in the caff. No spoke to Valient that way save Arthur and his gang, and they were the highest you could go in terms of the inmate authority chain.  
>"You fucking brat." Valient spat. He raised one had to deliver a blow that would send even the toughest men into unconsciousness. Arthur almost couldn't watch, and didn't believe what he saw. Valient's fist stopped a few inches from Merlin's face, held firmly in place with Merlin's hand. In one swift movement Merlin twisted the man's - who stood a head taller than him - arm and sent him to his knees. He then bent over to whisper something in his ear that no one else heard. He then proceeded to let him go.<br>"Bad move, Merlin." Gwaine muttered. Anyone in this god forsaken place could tell him that Valient would just try again. They could tell him, but they'd be wrong. Instead he got up shakily, turned around and **apologized. **Arthur didn't know what Merlin had said to him, but one thing was for certain, William Valient had never looked so pale.

**A/N: BAMF Merlin is my faaaaaaaaaave! What about you guys? Remember to review, let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Two**_

Four days. It took four days for Gwaine to gather enough courage to ask Merlin about himself. They had chatted a couple times over the time he been there, and Gwaine found that he rather liked the boy. He was obviously extremely smart, kind of reckless, witty, and didn't give a damn about who was supposed to be in charge. That was what Gwaine liked most about him; the complete disregard for authority. He hadn't seen him talk to anyone else though, and he sat away from the others during meals. Gwaine thought he was being stupid. In prison, you need to make as many friends as possible.  
>It was during work that he started the conversation. In Camelot - his current prison, and the nicest one he had been to by far - you worked to earn your keep. It was like the government figured that since they were there, they might as well be put to use. Today it was re-tarring the roof of the rec center. It seemed that Merlin had been assigned to their group. "They" being Arthur, Gwaine, Lancelot, Elyan, Percival and Leon. That was how they had all become so close, they were put together. It wasn't like that in the beginning believe it or not... Now wasn't the time to think about that though. Slowly he walked over to the young man. He had found out that Merlin was only two years younger than himself, at 22.<br>"This shit smells man, make sure you don't get any on your clothes."  
>"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."<br>Gwaine stood awkwardly for a minute, silently cursing himself for not thinking of anything better to say.  
>"So... Look, I've been polite to you 'cause you were new," Merlin looked up from his tar-blackened mop and over to Gwaine, "but I'm a nosy bugger and any more suspense would probably drive me to 's down the road. What are you in here for?"<br>Merlin smiled slightly. Everyone was looking at him expectantly. "I dunno Gwaine, shipping you off to the looney bin would give me more personal space. You shouldn't have mentioned it, now I may never tell you!"  
>"Oh come <strong>on<strong> Merlin! You were in fucking **Cenred** for Christ's sake! You can't blame me for being curious, I mean look at you!"  
>"Yeah, people there thought that too..." the smile faded from his face and Gwaine wondered if he had touched a nerve. Judging by how Merlin's eyes darkened for the slightest of moments, he had. It was only a moment though because it soon passed and Merlin was speaking with his normal cheek. "Let's make a deal then. You can <strong>all<strong> tell me why you're in here and for how long, and then maybe I might have some information that might interest you. Deal?"  
>"Public drunkenness mainly." Gwaine was the first to jump at the chance for any of Merlin's stories, "Two years. Well, it wasn't so much the being drunk, it was the what I do when I'm drunk. Y'know, vandalism, theft, trying to rob banks with water pistols..." he trailed off leaving Merlin with an expression that was a mixture of amusement, and shock.<br>"Two years for fighting with weapons." Elyan was next, "I had a knife, and they threatened my sister."  
>"I have a habit for getting access to information that I'm not meant to." Merlin turned to Leon, surprised. "What can I say, I'm an unemployed hacker, it should be expected. I'm looking at 7 years, they were kind of important files."<br>"As in, he hacked the government but no one can actually prove anything. I didn't actually do anything.. I just got pulled in by this one here." Percival jerked his thumb in Lance's direction, who smiled shyly. _Why was it that everyone seemed so embarrassed?_ Merlin wondered.  
>"I got into a gang fight. I'm not in a gang or anything, this guy just looked like he needed help. The cops automatically assumed that we were members of a rival gang, and cause we're just that lucky, we managed to be pinned with a gang who had already had multiple warnings, We're looking at 3 and a half years each."<br>"Arthur?"  
>"Uhm, I'm in here for getting into a fight with the son of someone who has a very good lawyer. 5 years. Now, Merlin, what about you?"<br>There was a silence for a moment.  
>"Shall I tell you what I did, or what I was charged with then?"<br>"You can just tell us what you were charged with." Gwaine just wanted _something. _  
>A sly smile spread across Merlin's face. "Alright then. I'm in here for six accounts of first degree murder. I'll be here for the rest of my life unless I'm very, very good. But why be good? That's so boring! No, I think I'll spend the next 5 years here and then get myself back to Cenred. No one was good there." There was a sparkle in his eye that shouldn't be there with any man talking about spending the rest of his life in a prison cell. Especially if that cell was in Cenred maximum security prison. Everyone stood stunned into silence.<br>"Six?"  
>"That's what I said."<br>"Why?"  
>"Now now Arthur, that wasn't part of the deal. You just wanted to know what I was charged with. If you want me to talk anymore, you're going to need to make it worth my while."<br>"What do you want?"  
>"You could do my work for me, unless that's too much work for you princess?"<br>Gwaine burst out laughing. "I thought I was the only one who called him that!"  
>"I've seen how you are around other people. Fed with the silver spoon were you? I haven't seen such an ass in quite a while."<p>

Arthur's hand was around Merlin's neck faster than anyone thought possible, and yet Merlin only smirked in recognition. He grabbed Arthur's hand and twisted it painfully. He leaned towards Arthur and whispered in his ear.

"Temper, temper. **Six**, princess, and that's only what I was charged with."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Three**_

Visitation day came around the third week that Merlin was in Camelot. It was weird for him. He was going to see people.. his family. He hadn't seen them in over a year, when he lost his rights to see anyone outside of the prison because of a stupid fight. Looking back on it, it really hadn't been worth it. The past is the past though, and there's no point in regretting.  
>He was led into the visitation area along with Gwaine. It was a large room, filled with ten or twelve tables. Not everyone had visitation on the same day; it went by cell block. They sat and waited for everyone to arrive. Rather, Gwaine sat and Merlin paced. The other inmates kept throwing him strange looks, but he didn't even notice them.<br>"Calm down Merlin, you look like you're going to be sick."  
>"Sorry." He sat heavily in the chair next to Gwaine's "I'm just nervous."<br>"Why? It's your family man! You've got nothing to worry about."  
>"I haven't seen my mother in over a year." Gwaine looked as if he were about to speak, but Merlin continued. "As for Freya, I'm just wondering if she's coming at all."<br>"Freya your sister?"  
>Merlin snorted.<br>"Freya is, or _was_, my girlfriend. We'd been together for 4 years. I'd bought the ring the week I got sent away. Now, I don't know."  
>For a minute, Gwaine was silent. No one ever came to visit him. His family were all in Camelot, and he saw them at every meal. "That's tough Merlin, but I'm sure -" he was cut off by Merlin bolting out of his chair and across the room.<br>From what Gwaine could see, she was small. She had long dark brown wavy hair, and chocolate brown eyes. She was pretty, and from the way Merlin was holding her, she was Freya. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as he saw Merlin - the Merlin who had terrified Valient and killed six people - stroke this girl's cheek and kiss her. He saw the tears streaming down her face as Merlin just held her, and saw her knuckles turning white as she refused to loosen her hold on him. He saw her murmur something into Merlin's ear, and he finally let go to give his mother a hug, and a kiss on the cheek. He led them both to a table and many tears were wiped away as they sat down: Freya beside Merlin, and his mother across from them.  
>"Who're they with Merlin?"<br>Gwaine turned to see that Arthur and Leon had arrived. They were in the same cell block, and therefore they had visitation today too.  
>"Mother and Sister?"<br>"Mother, yes. Sister, no. Please Arthur, does anyone hold their sister like that, or look at them with those eyes?" He gestured, pretending to be slightly disgusted, at how Merlin draped one arm over Freya's shoulders, and held her hand with the other. "That's Freya. That's his girlfriend, or fiancée. Depends on how you look at it. He was sent away the week he was going to propose."  
>"And you know all of this how?"<br>"He talks when he's nervous." Gwaine chuckled, "Poor bastard. He can face groups of angry criminals without batting an eye, but gets sweaty palms over seeing the two most important women in his life."  
>Arthur smiled. "Looks like he's not so tough after all."<p>

***  
>"Merlin, I've missed you so much." Freya whispered "It's been so terrible without you. I'm so, so sorry -"<br>"Don't you dare. I did what I had to do, so did you. Freya look at me. If I had to do it again I would. I would do it a thousand times over. I love you so much, I would never let anything happen to you."  
>She looked at him for a second, her eyes searching his. "I love you too."<br>He kissed her softly. It was not demanding or forceful; it was gentle, and said more about how much he loved her than any words could. She broke away from him and rested her forehead on his.  
>"At least now I can see you."<br>He smiled the smile that took over his face. It squished his eyes, and showed his teeth, and it meant that he was truly happy. "Every month."  
>"And you're not in Cenred anymore. That place was terrible."<br>"This is true. The people here are much better too."  
>She looked at him curiously. "Now there's something I never thought I'd hear you say. <em>My<em> Merlin is getting along well with others? Never!"  
>He laughed slightly and looked around to see Gwaine still sitting, but this time with Arthur. Leon was a few tables away with both of his parents and three siblings. Freya followed his gaze, and waved shyly at the two. In return they got up and walked over to join them.<br>"Where's your mum gone to then Merlin?"  
>"She wanted to ask some questions, and they gave her some forms to fill out. I expect she'll be back soon."<br>"And I'm guessing this is Freya then?"  
>Merlin grinned. "Yeah. Freya, this is Gwaine and Arthur. Gwaine's my cellmate and Arthur's an ass, but we do alright.<br>"Watch your tongue boy, or I won't help you mop the mess hall tomorrow."  
>"Yes you will, otherwise you'll be going without my stories and you'll have to deal with Gwaine complaining."<br>"Well he wouldn't have such high expectations if you hadn't given him the idea in the first place."  
>"Yeah but what fun would that be?"<br>The banter had become normal. It was almost like a routine.  
>"He reminds me of Will." Freya said suddenly.<br>"I guess." Merlin's smile faltered and he dropped his eyes. Gwaine made a mental note to ask who Will was later.  
>"Merlin!" a woman called. Everyone turned to look as Merlin's mother waved him over to her. She was short with brown hair pulled up in a loose bun. She didn't look old, but her laughter lines were evident even from this far away. Arthur liked her right away.<br>"You two, behave yourselves." He gave a pointed look at the two men before standing up.  
>"Oh don't worry Merlin, I can handle myself."<br>"It's not you I'm worried about." The couple grinned at each other and he planted a kiss on her cheek before wandering over to his mother.  
>"You know, I've not seen him smile as much in the past three weeks combined as I have today."<br>"I know Gwaine." Freya grinned, testing the new name. "I couldn't ask for a better man."  
>"Well there's always me.." he trailed off grinning and she laughed. Her laugh was light and airy and it tinkled and made him smile even wider.<br>"Well I don't know Gwaine. You have about five minutes to beat out five years. That's a year a minute. Go."  
>"Pfft, never mind then. you two are far too in love for me to only have five minutes. He must be really fantastic to you."<br>"He is."there was a moment of silence where Freya found the table ridiculously fascinating before she continued. "He saved me."  
>"Pardon?" Arthur asked, confused.<br>"He saved me." She lifted her brown eyes to meet Arthur's blue. "Years ago. I was abused by my father. He beat me. Told me I was useless. Called my mother a whore, all the usual stuff. Merlin saved me. He brought me to live with him. He made me feel like a human again. Even more than that, he made me feel special." She smiled shyly at her words and Arthur and Gwaine sat flabbergasted. "Oh! Don't feel sorry for me! That wasn't my intention! It's just a part of my past, and it was worth it if it brought me to him. He's braver than people give him credit for. He got a lot of shit from my father.." she trailed off, lost in thought, and then seemed to remember where she was, "but I'll let him tell you that."  
>Merlin and his mother - Hunith - arrived soon after. They all talked for a while and Arthur decided that he <em>definitely<em> liked her. She had a good sense of humor and didn't seem ill at ease around them like some mothers did. She didn't treat them like criminals. _Mind you,_ Arthur thought, _she probably met some nasty characters at Cenred._The hour and a half was over much too quickly and at the end there were many more tears. Gwaine and Arthur chatted awkwardly to Hunith while Merlin kissed Freya goodbye for _much_ too long, hugs were given to even the two that they had just met, and then they were gone. Merlin deflated slightly when the door shut, and Gwaine felt the need to remind him that he wasn't in Cenred anymore and that he would see them again in a month's time. Merlin grinned wider than should be humanly possible and turned to Gwaine.  
>"I know."<p>

**A/N: A lot of people seem to not like MerlinxFreya, but I ship it like a primary export so you're all just going to have to deal with it! Reviews make me write faster ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Four**_

Things changed after the first visit. Over the next three months Merlin became much friendlier, and told his stories more readily. He hadn't told any about himself, of course, just of things that had happened in the jail. The guards beat up a prisoner, and then had to deal with a riot. A man tried to escape and almost made it to the front fence before they Tasered him. Gwaine's personal favourite was the one about how the warden's sons would steal their dad's cigarettes, and sell them to the prisoners for extra cash. When Merlin started telling a story, you couldn't **not **listen to him. He was too good with words for that. He was now truly one of the group. He was always with them, and was one of the few that Arthur would actually listen to. It was hard to not listen to a man who sounded so smart, and had the experience to back him up. He had opened up to them, but it didn't last for long. Arthur blamed the new arrivals.  
>They came in a group of four. They were all from Cenred. No one was surprised, every six months or so, Camelot was sent Cenred's "good" prisoners. The place had been bursting at the seams lately though, and inmates were being sent over more and more frequently. They were tough looking, burly men with tattoos and scars. They walked into the mess hall on their first day and the entire room fell silent. This kind of silence hadn't happened for months.<p>

The leader of the group, Jason, was huge. He must've been 250 pounds of pure muscle, and he would've been handsome if not for the ugly scar that ran from his temple to the corner of his mouth. The three behind him were less impressive, but no less intimidating. The caff was soon buzzing with rumours and whispered conversations about the four.  
>"Shit he's huge. They're all from Cenred right?" Gwaine looked over his shoulder anxiously, watching the newbies get their lunch.<br>"Yeah, but trust me you'll all be fine." Merlin smiled and continued eating, not worried.  
>"Oh come on mate, I know you're a scary motherfucker, but he could snap you in half!"<br>Merlin looked up from his plate of mush, and his smile twisted slightly. "He tried. How'd you think he got that scar?"  
>"You're fucking with me.."<br>"Not at all."  
>"Do you have a deathwish!" this was Arthur.<br>"Quite the opposite really. Watch this."  
>Merlin got up from the table with a grin and a wink, despite the whispers of "are you fucking crazy?" He walked over to the food line. He kept his head down and hunched his shoulders slightly, making himself look weak and vulnerable. He then cut right in front of one of the three behind Jason – Troy, apparently - who grabbed his arm and spun him around.<br>"The fuck do you think you're doing?"  
>The caff once again fell silent as Jason turned around to get involved with the confrontation. Merlin kept his head ducked.<br>Jason chuckled. "Aw look at this, a little runt who thinks he's more entitled than us because he's been here longer." He lowered his voice and bent over slightly, trying to get in Merlin's face. "We're from Cenred mate. You're not entitled to anything until you've been there."  
>"Good thing I have then eh?" You could practically hear the grin in Merlin's voice. The four's confused looks turned to pure terror as soon as he lifted his head. "Troy, get the fuck off me."<br>"Yes! Sorry!"  
>"Now Jason," said Merlin, turning, "you have once again landed yourself in <strong>my <strong>territory. Do you know what that means?"  
>"Yes, of course, I'm sorry, I didn't know, I wouldn't have - "<br>"Shut the fuck up you blubbering idiot."  
>"Sorry."<br>"Sorry what?"  
>"Sorry, <strong>sir<strong>."  
>"Oh, good, so you do remember. Now I want you to look over there." He nodded to Arthur's table. "That man over there is king of the castle so to speak. Anyone in that group says jump, you say how high. Got that?" The four nodded their heads shakily, "And if I hear anything otherwise, we're going to have some issues." he leaned in and lowered his voice so that no one but the four could hear. "Now, you-know-who hasn't needed to rear his ugly head here yet, but don't think that means he won't. I have no issues having his first appearance be in disciplining one of you. Do you understand?"<p>

"Yes, Merlin, Sir."

"Now there's a good lad." he raised his voice and addressed the entire dumbfounded caff, "These four are new here, obviously, and I'm sure you've all heard they're from Cenred. Oooh, big bad scary Cenred, yeah, yeah, yeah. Now I ask all of you to remember that **is** where I once was too. If these guys cross the line with any of you, let me know. I need to keep my dogs on a leash somehow." He smiled and gave a dramatic bow before returning to his seat.

"They're going to fucking kill you."

Merlin gave a halfhearted laugh, "I thought we went over this Arthur, they've already tried that."

"Doesn't mean they won't try again."

"Look, believe it or not, I ran show back there alright? These guys may be bad, but they're not as bad as me." Gwaine cocked and eyebrow, and Merlin sighed. "Jason's in for serial rape. Four girls. They were all between 12 and 17, the sick bastard. He probably would've ended up here, but he beat the shit out of the last girl and she had a very good lawyer. Troy snapped one day and killed his father. He wouldn't have been in Cenred, but he's mentally unstable and they're the only ones equipped to deal with him. The other two are brothers. They're really not a threat to anyone. It was the stacked charges that did them in, in the end. They had fake ID's, forged documents, credit card fraud, possession of illegal substances, possession of illegal weapons, suggested ties with the local prostitution ring, and so on and so forth."

"Hang on,I thought Emrys ran show in the Max."

Merlin froze for a moment, his eyes shadowed, "So you know about Emrys?" Gwaine did not like that tone, and interrupted Arthur before he had a chance to say something wrong.

"Everyone does mate, he's like a ghost story y'know? _Be good or Emrys'll get ya,_ it's something you tell the new inmates."

"He's not a ghost story."

Gwaine gaped, opening and closing his mouth a few times before mumbling incoherently.

"He's not a ghost story. He's more than real. We don't really get along, Emrys and I. We've butted heads one too many times for my liking to be honest."

"You know Emrys?"

"Emrys.. he doesn't like to show his face. Few people know who he actually is. He works through puppets. Well payed, powerful, feared puppets, but puppets none the less. I was the last one he used before I was sent here. They think I'm Emrys."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm sorry this took so ling! Honestly, I had the first half of it written out weeks ago, but I didn't want it to end there. It's kind of short so sorry again BUT I have a few things to tell you! First of all, I know where this is going and so hopefully it'll be easier to write! Because of this, I am looking for a plot beta! Let me know if you're interested in hashing out plot idea with me! Also, it's funny how many of you were saying that you didn't want Merlin to actually be a murderer, and how many of you were saying that you really wanted him to be Emrys for real :P All will be revealed in good time, I promise! I shall now let you get to the reading xD**

_**Five**_

Merlin withdrew after that. "King" (as Arthur was called after Merlin's little outburst) barely even saw him anymore. The same went for all of the others, except Gwaine of course. The perks of being cellmates Arthur supposed.

It was strange the effect Merlin had on people. Sure, Arthur ran show, but it was _Merlin _who people respected, who people feared. Merlin, who advised him and gave him ideas. Arthur had begun to feel like a puppet himself. _He's been working for Emrys for so long that he thinks that this is the only way. He saw me as a marionette with no one holding my strings. _He didn't like doubting Merlin. The two had become close over the past five or so months, but in prison you need to know who your enemies are.

For a few days he considered just asking him what the fuck was going on, but he knew it wouldn't work. When Merlin was faced with a direct question he didn't want to answer, he either shut down, or twisted his answer so much that you got no new information. Either way it was a dead end. Arthur needed to be sly, sneaky. He needed Gwaine.

It was hard to have a moment alone to talk in a place like this. Many a plan was thought over before Arthur decided on the one that was stupidly simple. All he had to do was ask everyone at the table to go and get seconds of their lunch. He didn't even lie about why, and said straight up he needed to talk to Gwaine. He hadn't expected it to work, but it's always nice to be pleasantly surprised.

"What is it Princess, I want seconds too."

"Merlin's playing me for a fool." Arthur briefly wished he had a camera, the way that Gwaine's face changed. "He was used by Emrys for so long that he wants to be the one with the power for once. He's using me just like he was used before. He wants to do what Emrys does in Cenred, here."

"Are you fucking crazy mate?"

"No I'm not. He's barely around anymore and yet people are still terrified of him. I haven't even seen him for just over a week."

Gwaine blanched. "You don't know?"

"Know what?" Gwaine looked around and leaned towards Arthur, lowering his voice.

"He's on lockdown. He hasn't been sleeping. Nightmares, I think. He keeps talking in another language so I don't know what he's saying, but I swear to you that one of those words is 'Freya'."

"His fiancee?"

"Yeah. That's not even the half of it though. So what if he's dreaming about a girl that he's never going to properly be with? The nightmares make him edgy. I try to stay out of his way when he wakes up cause he gets rough. Recently it's gotten really bad. He threatened Morgana, said things about her that I didn't even know. All of it was true as well. He knew her secrets. Said he knew everyone's."

"And he's on lockdown for that?"

"Partially. They started escorting him everywhere, that's why you saw him less. They put him on less crowded activities. Last week they put him onto cleaning the mess hall after breakfast. Someone spilt water on him, Cedric I think, and he broke his arm. Guards had to wrestle him away before he did worse damage apparently."

"Jesus Gwaine, why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"I thought you knew. They're trying to keep it quiet though, don't want word about him getting out."

Arthur took a deep breath. "Fuck."

"Yeah. Something's wrong with him Arthur, seriously wrong. Nightmares suck, but they don't normally make people violent."

"I think we should try to talk to him."

"Oh yeah? And how are you going to do that?"

"I dunno, maybe you can talk with Morgana."

"Cause that'll work."

Arthur sighed dramatically.

"Alright look." Gwaine continued. "I'll try to talk to Merlin. I'll let you know what I find out alright? If he goes off on me, I'll probably be sent to the med. wing, and you can volunteer to keep an eye on him."

"Alright."

The conversation was cut short as the others sat down again.

"You good?" asked Lancelot "Because though as much as we would love to go and get thirds, I don't think it's really an option."

Arthur grinned, "Yeah, we're good."

When the cell doors slid open for the night, Gwaine took a breath to steady himself before he walked inside. Merlin was where he always was, lying on his bunk looking at the ceiling; his left hand drumming an imaginary beat into his stomach as his left arm draped lazily off the bed.

"You're back late."

"Yeah, apparently they want you interacting with people as little as possible."

Merlin snorted, "Yeah I guess, lockdown and all."

They settled into a comfortable silence, Gwaine taking off his shoes, and sliding onto his bed before speaking. "Arthur's worried about you." He waited a few seconds before realizing there was going to be no reply. "Was wondering he hadn't seen you around."

"What did you tell him?"

"The truth."

"Well isn't that just a load of shite."

"What?"

"You told him I'm a mentally unstable psychopath with violent tendencies. Who knows, maybe I'll be moved back to Cenred earlier than I thought."

"Mate, you're not half confusing sometimes. I told him about Morgana, and that fight or whatever."

"I see."

There was another silence that this time was not quite so comfortable. It lasted for a few minutes before Gwaine got up to grab his toothbrush, the bathrooms were probably mostly empty by now. When he glanced at Merlin he hadn't moved, but he was now twirling something between his fingers that Gwaine couldn't make out.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"How did you know all of that about Morgana?"

"Gwaine, Gwaine, Gwaine. The plus side of being involved with Emrys is how much inside information gets passed on to you. I could tell you things about this prison that would make your skin crawl."

"How does Emrys get his intel?"

Merlin propped himself up on one elbow, and looked straight at Gwaine. His eyes were a fierce blue, and seemed to look straight through whoever he was looking at. Gwaine shifted uncomfortably at the door.

"I couldn't tell you." he flashed a trademark grin and lay back down, his fingers never stopped moving.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay, wow. Uhm, you guys are actually the best! I realise that it's been months since the last update and I wish I had a better excuse other than "real life is busy" but I don't, and even though it's been forever, I'm still getting messages that say "update soon" and "I love this story" and I can't even being to tell you how much that means to me! I realise this chapter is probably a little shorter than you're used to, but I hope it doesn't disappoint. Honestly, you guys are amazing. Thank you so much, and as always, don't forget to review! ~RK  
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Six.

"I'm telling you, it's no good. He's not talking."

"Well make him talk."

"You're kidding me, yeah? Feel free to try, princess, but I'm not having him go on a tangent while I'm around. As much as I like my sleep, I like waking up from it, if you get my meaning."

"He's not about to kill you, Gwaine."

"Well you never know. Killed six other people that we know of, and we still don't know why. He could make it look like an accident. It's not like he has anything to lose anymore, he's already in jail."

"Freya."

"What?"

"Freya. His bird."

"No. No way."

"We could talk to her. If not, we could make something up about-"

"Arthur, I'm not being funny when I say that he actually might kill us. If there's one thing you don't joke about, it's her. He goes from being a laugh to looking like he's about to punch you in the face in about half a nanosecond."

"You'd know from personal experience would you?"

"Yeah. Made a joke about running off with her. It didn't go over so well."

"I can imagine."

There was a thoughtful silence for a moment. No one else was in the mess hall at this time of night, and it made the place almost peaceful. A full moon hung in a cloudless sky, and cast an eery light through the barred rectangular windows that lined the far wall, seven feet up. Those bars were a pain to clean. You needed someone with you who wouldn't try to throw you off the ladder. It was probably the reason why Arthur and Gwaine were always made to do it.

"Look," Arthur rubbed his hands together as he tried to think of the right words, "I just- I just want to be sure, you know? I want to know for certain that he's not working for Emrys anymore, and that he's honest-to-God on our side."

"I hate to break it to you, but no matter what he tells us, half of it's going to be lies. We don't know about his past, or Cenred, or even him if you think about it. I'd bet my stash of Playboy's that he's still working for Emrys, even if he doesn't want to. It doesn't sound like something you get out of that easily. We just need to trust him Arthur. He hasn't done anything to warrant suspicion yet anyway."

"Warrant suspicion? You've been watching your crime dramas again haven't you?"

"What can I say, Patrick Jane is my soul mate."

Arthur just shook his head. "Come on. We're slotted for first breakfast tomorrow, and I'd like more than three hours sleep. This is as clean as we're going to get it."

"Alright."

Gwaine dutifully picked up his bucket and mop, and walked it over to the utilities closet.

"3,2,1," He opened the door and the various booms dusters and stacked supplies fell in a heap at his feet, "Jenga. We should really get this thing sorted out. I'm sick of reorganizing every time someone who's not me puts this shit back."

"Don't be so anal and kick it back in like you always do." Gwaine grinned and did as he was told. "Come on. I'll take a detour and walk you back to your cell."

They left the mess hall in companionable silence, taking a left towards Gwaine's cell instead of a right towards Arthur's. The sounds coming from farther down the hall though, were less than inviting. A heated argument trying to be kept quiet. The venom in the voices were unmistakable, even if the words themselves were slightly distorted.

"... _told you...discovered..."_

"_...idiots...figure it out..."_

"_Merlin...killed...me"_

"_...Emrys..."_

Arthur and Gwaine exchanged a look, and crept as quietly as they could towards the conversation. Merlin and Emrys in the same conversation? This could prove to be interesting, or even better, could give them more information on the man they had decided to call their friend. Slowly they walked, looking undeniably as if they were trying to copy something out of a James Bond flick.

"_...fuck this up you're dead."_

"_I know that, I know. I'm telling you to trust me."_

"_Trust you? Like Will did? Like your father?"_

"_Shut up.."_

"_Look where that trust got them."_

"_SHUT UP!" _Merlin yelled – this voice was most definitely his – and a loud crash came from inside the cell.

"Merlin? Merlin are you okay?" Gwaine sprang up, running the rest of the way to help his cellmate, "We heard voices, who were you talking with?"

"I'm fine, Gwaine. I don't know what you're talking about."

"There was an argument, we thought-"

"Leave it Gwaine," interrupted Arthur, "the man's fine and there's obviously no one else in there for him to talk to."

"But-" Gwaine started, getting a raised eyebrow from his friend, he closed his mouth. "I'm just going to tell Morgana I'm back."

"No need," came the icy voice behind him, "she already knows."

"Morgana!" Gwaine put on his brightest smile and his cheeriest voice.

"Warden." she corrected. "I'm opening your cell now, I suggest you be inside it when the door slides shut or you'll be out here all night."

"No sympathy for the man who cleaned the dining hall out of the good of his heart?"

"Good of his heart, my ass." she scoffed. "Get to sleep. You too, Pendragon. You're both up early tomorrow I believe, and don't think for a second I won't come around with a bucket of cold water if you're not a breakfast."

She turned and walked away, and not a second later was there a buzz, and the bars slid aside to let Gwaine in to his sleeping quarters.

Arthur leaned forwards and lowered his voice. "We'll try to talk to him tomorrow," he breathed, glancing at Merlin, "I want to know what that was all about."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Wow. So uhm. It's been what, six months? Oops.. Honestly guys, I'm not going to make any excuses and tell you that from now on chapters will be posted every other day because I am a writing machine, but I am going to apologize. I lost the writing bug for the longest time and I hate forcing stories out, they just turn out badly. Unfortunately this meant an indefinite wait for you guys as well. I'm not even sure the bug is back yet (as is evident by the pitifulness of this "chapter") but I guess we'll see. I do promise that I'll put in a more conscience effort to write, and if you're still here after all of this time I thank you so so much, you guys are amazing!**

**Seven.**

**As it turned out, tomorrow never happened.** Nor the day after. Nor the day after. It was as if Merlin had disappeared from the face of the earth. Gwaine had awoken to find the bed above him empty and bare, and no one else had heard from him. It made Arthur furious.

"He's done this. It's too convenient. We hear him having a conversation about Emrys with some mysterious voice and then he bloody disappears. It's him trying to escape us, is what it is."

It was the paranoid meal time rant that the others had heard fairly often of the past four or five days, and as usual they tried to change the topic.

Percy was the first to try with a halfhearted "The weather's nice today, at least."

"Yeah, and the next visit's coming up soon!" was Lance's input, "I'll get to see my mum right before her birthday."

"Oh that's aces mate!" was Gwaine.

"I don't have anyone coming for me." the broken voice silenced the group and made Arthur freeze. Gwaine's smile faltered as he looked over Arthur's head to where Merlin stood. He was about to make some sly joke about Freya running off with another man, which, granted, was a terrible idea, but would also probably get the miserable look off of his face, when Merlin barrelled on. "Lost that privilege along with my sanity apparently. Sorry I scared you all the other day, that happens to me sometimes." he shuffled awkwardly to the end of the table, looking at each of his friends in turn. Looking for approval.

The awkward pause lingered for a moment before Gwaine found it unbearable.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Freaked us all out when you weren't there the next day though."

"Yeah, uhm, they moved me to the psych ward at some ridiculous time in the morning." he gave a small smile, "They didn't want to wake you so I kind of just left."

"This happens to you sometimes?" Arthur didn't even lift his eyes to meet Merlin's, he just stared at his food and threw down what little of it he was holding.

"Yeah."

"And you never thought to tell us that?"

"What was there to say?"

"Obviously not that you have conversations with yourself. It's an interesting cover, I'll give you that. It's inventive, but I don't buy it for a second. I dunno, maybe you have some hidden cell or bluetooth or something? You're keeping in contact with Emrys, or with someone who knows him at least. I'm not stupid Merlin. Now you can either tell me about it later, or you can consider yourself alone."

Merlin's face grew dark, the others in various states of shock and gaping.

"Arthur-"

"I don't believe I was talking to you Gwaine." he finally lifted his face towards Merlin, a cold hard stare plastered onto his features. "So?"

"You want to single me out, Arthur? Go ahead. Just remember something; to you I'm just another inmate, but them," he waved his hand, vaguely gesturing to the entirety of the mess hall, "to them I'm a God. I'm that bloke that even the Cenred inmates are afraid of." He leaned on the table, inches away from Arthur face, "You may be strong in a group, but I'm strong alone. If alone is what I have then so be it. Alone protects me." He held his stare for a few moments longer before turning oh his heel and storming out of the room.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: As always I'm about to thank you all and gush about how ridiculous it is to me that you're all still reading this! I do have one actual question for you all though after I apologize profusely for uploading another short chapter. I really want to make some of them longer but I don't want to keep you all waiting indefinitely. So here's the question: Do you all prefer longer updates farther apart or shorter updates more frequently? It's something that I've been wondering and it maydefinitelymightpossiblymaybe effect how often I update? You're all amazing! remember to review ~RK**

**Eight**

**Nothing much changed for the next week. **Arthur refused to admit that he was wrong, and Merlin was barely ever seen outside of his cell. The group stayed quiet about the conflict, no one wanting to be seen as the weak link; the one who had an issue with Arthur's decision. Conversations were strained, but close enough to normal that no one outside of themselves would know any different. For a while anyway. It couldn't go on forever without rumours starting to float about.

"_I heard they got into a fight and Merlin's in hospital."_

"_I heard he was shipped back to Cenred."_

"_His lawyer came by and picked him up, he's in court in another country apparently."_

"_He escaped. Home free. He's used to max security, this place is nothing for him."_

The rumours themselves wouldn't have been so bad if they weren't paired with inmates throwing Arthur looks as if he had the answers to all of their questions. Gwaine had had to hold him back from getting into physical fights a few times because Arthur had been strung on his last nerve for far too long. He didn't know what Merlin got up to, he just knew that he didn't trust the bastard as far as he could throw him, and he was no longer welcome to be near him.

Yet, he still wanted to ask Gwaine how he was. He still wanted to bring him up in conversation because if there was one thing he missed about the son of a bitch it was that ridiculous smile and the incredible stories. They truly had accepted him and to Arthur, and he suspected to many of the others as well, Merlin had become family. The newest brother adopted into a broken home. It was as he thought about that one day, as he sat with Gwaine watching his bloody cop dramas, that an idea struck him.

"Freya"

"What?"

"Freya. We have to talk to her."

"For Christ's sake." Gwaine muttered to himself, muting the television and turning to Arthur, a serious look on his face. "I have told you so many times, that is the last thing that you want to do. You get her involved and he'll be out for blood."

"Look, he told us that he sometimes talks to himself, yeah? If he's not bullshitting us then she can back his story up. Besides, he doesn't tell us anything and I have some questions that need answering."

"I dunno Arthur, he-"

"Doesn't need to know." Arthur finished for him, "He's not allowed visitors remember."

"Yeah, and what if he finds out? If he hears that she came by and he didn't get to see her then I'm bloody well bunking with you, and Gav can be the one to be castrated in his sleep."

Arthur shook his head and stared at the show playing, a girl was being murdered by her boyfriend. There was much too much blood and Arthur was sure that no bone broke that easily; not that he had any personal experience with it mind you.

"It's driving us all mad, Arthur, not just you." Gwaine sighed, almost theatrically, "I've been talking with the others you know. Just because you're a pillock doesn't mean the rest of us have to be."

"And?"

"And everyone gets why you did it. We can't have someone around who we don't trust completely."

"See, I knew-"

"Shut your fat gob and listen for a second. Just because we understand doesn't mean that we agree with you. Merlin's done nothing against us the entire time he's been here. It's not like he needs us neither. He could run this place single handed, but he doesn't. He doesn't do it because he doesn't want to be alone."

"You don't know that."

"I do know that. Spend enough time with a man and you learn pretty damn fast what kind of person he is. He may be cut out of your life but he's still in mine. The man's essentially a five year old."

"A five year old who talks to himself and murdered six people."

"Yeah well, we all have our faults."

Arthur sighed and shook his head. He could not believe this. How could Gwaine be passing something off that was this serious? Sure, they were all in prison and they all had skeletons in their closets, but _murder_? He was willing to brush off **murder**? Steeling himself, he sat up properly and looked Gwaine in the eye.

"I'm doing this. I'll let her know everything up front, and she can choose to stay or leave, but I have to talk to her. Are you with me or are we pretending that you have no idea what's going on."

"Arthur, you know I can't keep a secret for shite."

"With me it is."

Stifling a groan, Gwaine sank into the couch cushions and turned the volume back up on the television. A suspect was now being interviewed, but it wasn't the murderous boyfriend. There was twenty minutes left in the show and Arthur guessed that this guy would bring up a lead that would turn up nothing. The team of cops, or forensic analysts, or whatever they were would give up before one of them made a breakthrough discovery that led them straight to the murderer. It was the same cut and paste storyline in every episode and it was a mystery to him how people watched these shows weekly. Daily, even, if they watched more than one.

"This tv's a load of crap."

"I know."

"Then why do you watch it?"

"Entertainment."

"Are there not more enter-"

"Arthur" Gwaine snapped, "could you stop for a minute and let me listen to the wonderfully attractive Detective come to a conclusion."

"Oh I see, I've come second to trash tv."

"Oi! It's not trash. If you want true trash I can always put on Gypsy Weddings." Gwaine grinned as he held up the remote control and shook it teasingly in Arthur's direction.

"Oh good gods no."


	10. Chapter 10

**Nine**

**A/N: UPDATE **** As some of you may know, November is National Novel Writing Month! If any of you are participating, add me as a buddy under RoseKathryns! This is important for you though, my readers, because despite the fact that I did indeed start a novel for NaNoWriMo, I decided that was probably unfair seeing as I have so many other stories that I regularly neglect. SO this story has become my entry this year! For those who don't know, the challenge of writing NaNo is to write roughly 1500 words every single day. This means that hopefully, you guys will be getting a new chapter every couple of days or so! If I start slacking, come bug me either on my NaNo page, or at .com I can basically guarantee that I'll see it if you message me there. I appreciate all of your support so much, I can't believe how many people have stuck with me, thank you thank you thank you**

**Arthur tapped his fingers impatiently **as he waited for Freya to show. He had extended the invitation through Morgana who, more than wanting to help, was just a nosey bugger. Waiting was not Arthur's forte though, and soon enough he had turned from normal human to a human earthquake. He bounced his leg, tapped his fingers, drummed his left hand against his thigh, and had moved on to include horse blows before he saw the petite brunette slowly walk in. In that moment he froze. The script in his mind suddenly sounded crude and unrefined, the last thing he wanted to do was offend her. How would he breach the subject though? He couldn't just sit her down and say "your boyfriend's crazy."

Slowly she walked over to him, twisting a red piece of cloth – a scarf – all the while. She looked over to him and Arthur released a breath he didn't know he was holding. He stood shakily, smiling as he extended a hand to her.

"Thank you for coming."

She ignored him and pulled her chair out, thudding down heavily. Arthur winced, trying to think of what he could say to ease her tension. After an awkward twenty seconds of silence that stretched to seem more like twenty minutes, Freya saved him.

"How are you, Arthur?" the politeness was clinical and her smile forced, but at least she was trying to make things easier for the both of them.

"I'm well. They don't let you stray too far from that in here."

She huffed a small laugh, and inclined her head minutely. She looked as if she were about to say something, but couldn't decide how to word it. _Looks like we're both in the same boat _Arthur sympathized.

"Freya.." he started. Her eyes shot up to meet his for the first time, and she stared at him with such an intensity that it was a wonder he was able to stay so composed. She was furious. She hid it well and no one would be able to tell from her body language, but her eyes gave her away. Rage simmered just under the surface.

"Why can't I see him, Arthur? I thought things here were different. I thought he was free to see his family."

"He was-"

"So why in God's name has it been over a month? They didn't tell me anything, you know. Just that there was an incident, that he can't see anyone until they say he can." She was spitting her words, directing her anger at the only available target. Arthur didn't blame her, she had every right to be angry. He would have to be very careful with his word choice during this conversation, he realized, more so than he had expected.

"I was actually hoping you could help me figure that out," he said cautiously, "You probably know the situation better than anyone else."

"What do you mean?" her expression faltered, her pinched lips and furrowed eyebrows looking more like concern than anger.

"I don't want to scare you off. I'm not trying to pry and I just hope you know that you don't have to answer all of my questions. We all just want to figure Merlin out as much as you-"

"What is it Arthur?"

Arthur took a deep breath, steeling his nerves for the reaction of horror he was more than likely to get from her. "Merlin had a bit of an episode. He says he's had them before, but because of it he's had certain privileges revoked."

"Like seeing me?"

"Like seeing you."

"What do you mean 'an episode'?"

"I don't know what else to call it. I was walking Gwaine back to his cell and we heard him talking to someone. Well, talking more along the lines of arguing," he shook his head before continuing, "All I know is that they were talking about Emrys, and Merlin's father was brought into it along with that guy Will you mentioned the last time you were here. I thought that I should tell you. I thought that maybe you could help."

Freya had paled completely. The colour in her cheeks and lips was gone, and they were an unhealthy ashy shade. Her face was frozen in shock and horror.

"Oh dear God no," she whispered to herself "Not again."

"Freya? What is it?"

Arthur had to strain his ears to hear her, but he payed attention to every single word that came from her lips. "Before... Before I tell you anything, I need to know. What exactly do you know about Emrys?"

It was Arthur's turn to be shocked. Freya knew about Emrys? Freya thought she knew more than he did about him? He knew, logically, that this made sense. Though contact at Cenred would've been kept to a minimum, and no face to face visits were allowed, she would've known about Merlin's reputation; about how he was using the name like his own to stay protected and in power.

"In here, Emrys is like a ghost story you tell the new inmates," he echoed what he remembered Gwaine saying to Merlin, "He's the Big Bad Wolf and the Boogeyman all rolled into one. Merlin told us that he's more than just a myth. He's a real person inside Cenred, and he uses other people to stay anonymous. Merlin was the last person he used, it's why everyone's convinced he's such vicious person."

"Oh no, Merlin is plenty vicious on his own." Arthur gave her a questioning look, but she continued anyway, not explaining what she meant. "Emrys is more than that. You need to understand this. Emrys has been a part of Merlin's life longer than the prison sentence."

"What do you mean? How can-"

She held up a hand to silence him, "Please, Arthur, just let me explain this and then I'll try my best to answer your questions. Emrys has run Cenred for years, but he wasn't always on the inside. Before Merlin was sent there, the real man himself wasn't an inmate, just hired goons putting on a persona. Everyone knew it too. Emrys had started to lose his control of the prison, and it's why Merlin got involved. He was going to jail for life anyway..." she trailed off and paused for a moment, "I suppose you should know that story before I tell you another. Merlin told you that he's in prison for six counts of first degree murder?"

"Yeah, we asked him ages ago."

"It should've been more."

"What?!" Arthur sputtered "You're telling me that Merlin got off easy?"

"Yeah, I am. Just listen to me. Merlin's family has always been on the sketchier side of business. You met his mum, she's absolutely lovely, but his dad... Balinor Ambrosius was a legend, to put it mildly. He ran with the Dragons. Led them for a while too. They called him the Dragon King." she smirked slightly "I remember Merlin saying how it was such a cop out. 'Dragon Lord is the real term' he said. Anyway, he was killed when we were younger. Right after Merlin's thirteenth birthday. Balinor had taken him out, wanted to spend some time with him. They were cornered by another gang. Merlin never told me the full story, said he didn't want to scare me, but he was beaten pretty badly, and his dad had been stabbed to death." Freya paused, thoughtful and sad. Arthur couldn't help but feel the tugging at his heartstrings at the look of pure grief on her face. "That's really when all of this started. Merlin was torn apart by it, said he'd find the bastards and kill them as soon as he could. As soon as he knew he was strong enough. He started getting into fights and stealing cars. He learned how to shoot a gun and joined the Dragons. They loved him there, told him he was the son of a hero. Will followed him into it. Said he wouldn't let Merlin make an arse out of himself and die unless he was there to watch it. They'd known each other forever. It used to be the running gag that he was my only competition. Honestly, I'm pretty sure that if Will said he didn't like me, Merlin and I would've never happened."

"Best friends then."

"Better." Freya stopped talking there, smoothing out the twisted piece of red cloth she had brought with her, and folding it. Arthur didn't interrupt her. Revisiting your own past was hard enough, but trying to do justice to someone else's? Someone you loved? He couldn't imagine it, trying to get all the facts straight and explain just how important certain things were. So he gave her the time to think, and didn't push her. "Merlin blames himself for Will's death," she said quietly "Thinks it's his fault that he was there. There was a fight happening. Some new arse chasing a reputation. They were gonna put him down." her eyes brimmed with tears, and she took a shaky breath, "Merlin heard that the guy claimed to be the son of one of the guys who killed his father, and wanted to go and check it out. Beat the truth out of him if he had to... Will went with him as backup and was killed on the way there. The whole thing had been a set up. Merlin had been making a name for himself in the area, and some people just weren't okay with that. Their car was shot up on the way to the fight, Obviously Merlin survived, but he has some pretty nasty scars. Will was caught in the side of the head and neck. If he'd managed to survive the head wound, it would've been long before he bled out."

"That's awful, really truly it is, but I don't get how that relates to anything."

"Because Emrys was with him the entire time."


	11. Chapter 11

**Ten**

**A/N: Thanks so much for the encouragement guys! It helps so much! For any of you who were asking questions about NaNo you can go to ! I'd say it's too late to join (today's the deadline for 13,333 words) but if you want to marathon write, or have a story you just need a reason to continue - like this is for me - I would encourage you all to do it, next year if not this one! After a few of the reviews last week I was sorry to see that some of you weren't too keen on Freya's character, and it's one of those situation where I wish I could reach through the screen and just yell "stay with me! I promise I have a plan!" and tell you where this is goi,,g but you'll have to keep reading to find out! All I can say is that I hope you give me the chance to show you just where this ends up - remember, things are not always what they seem! Remember to review! ~RK**

"**What?" Arthur's train of thought had crashed,** and was burning around him. All the questions he wanted to ask were irrelevant now. "How?"

Freya shook her head sadly, pursing her lips together before answering him, "I can't. You have to ask him. If you really want to know about Emrys, you have to talk to Merlin. I only told you this because you need to understand his reasons for doing what he did."

"What did he do Freya? You haven't told me anything! How did he know Emrys? Who is he? You didn't even tell me who he killed to get in here." his voice was low and unnecessarily harsh and as he saw her flinch, he found that he didn't particularly care.

"I told you what you need to know. Just.. tread softly around him? You really are just like Will. He was a bit of a hothead too. Insisted on resolving everyone's conflicts for them. Did what he could for anyone whenever he could do it. You're like the protective version of him. The side that Merlin knew the best. Truly would've killed for each other, those two... It might've happened once actually, but Merlin doesn't give me the details on those stories." she sighed sadly before pushing the folded piece of red linen across the table. "Would you do me a favour and give him that?"

"What is it?"

"It's nothing. Please. Can you please just pass it along?"

Arthur paused, uncertain. His hand started to reach for it and then paused, a questioning look on his face. "He doesn't even know I'm talking to you."

"You didn't tell him?"

"No. I thought it would just upset him, make him more angry than he currently is."

"That's not something anyone needs."

"Too right." They looked at each other for a few more moments before Arthur made up his mind. "Look. Why don't you give it to the front? Tell them who it's for and then I can go and pick it up later. I can tell him I checked for everyone cause I was down here anyway. It might work as a peace offering."

"I suppose that could work."

"I still have questions, Freya."

"Then ask them. I can guarantee this is the only time I'll let you, but I can't guarantee how well I'll answer." her voice was soft but firm, her mouth set straight in a determined line.

"Who knows Merlin personally on the outside?" It was Arthur's first question, and the one he thought was the most important. If he could find some sort of link that he could use to find out more about Merlin and his past, as well as his connection with Emrys, he would. Freya gave him an icy stare before replying, obviously not impressed with the game he had decided to play.

"The Dragons know him better than anyone, but he wasn't disliked in other crowds. The Druids were convinced that they would be able to win him over for a while. There were others. Morgause tried to lure him to the Triads, Lamia to the Scottish mafia. It depends on what you call personally."

_Shit shit shit "_Fine, who was upset to find out he was going to prison?"

"Everyone."

"Freya, please, you're not answering me."

"You're not asking the right questions."

"Well what questions do I need to ask?"

"Figure it out. You have thirty seconds."

He stared at her in wondering panic. The first time he had met her, he wouldn't've thought she could be so rough. He supposed it made sense though, after all, she was involved with Merlin and his kind of people. "How did you meet Merlin?"

She smiled a little, and inclined her head. "Going for the personal information, Arthur? It's not really that interesting. I showed up in his town when we were about fifteen. He was nice to me and we became friends. I got into some trouble with some awful people, and Merlin was really the only person who stood by me. Him and Will. The three of us became inseparable and a couple of years later he asked me out."

"And that's not interesting?"

"Not to you."

"I'm sorry if I've offended you."

"No, not at all."

"I just need... there are things that I need to know. Not only for myself, but for everyone else too. Merlin having conversations with himself in a jail cell right before being moved to the psych ward it's just – I need to make sure that everyone in here is safe. They're my family."

"I understand, but I can't say anything else here. I wish I could, really, I do, but there are things that even you're not ready to deal with. Information won't even help you really," she pushed the scarf towards him again "but if you want to help him, and keep everyone else safe make sure he gets this. He might even tell you why. It's all I can do for you right now until I'm told otherwise." Her eyes widened for a moment in panic, as if she had just shared a secret she was not meant to.

"Told by who?"

Looking to her hands, Freya lowered her voice "We live in different worlds Arthur. The son of Uther Pendragon and raised with a silver spoon who got into a drunken fight with a man who was going through the process of trying to sue you."

"How do you-" he was cut off as Freya kept talking as if he hadn't said anything

"You were never in a gang, never knew the streets, your friends are all sparkling clean too. The only criminals you know, you know because you're in here. Me and Merlin are different. I don't remember ever not having to deal with guns and drugs and fighting, and when we say we'd kill for each other it's not just an expression. It's a promise we've both had to keep." She said all of this with a flat tone and straight face. Arthur doubted he had ever seen anyone look so serious. "So if I tell you to stop asking questions, if I say that all the information you get from me is on a need to know basis, I hope you can accept that and not go digging. I know that you can get Leon on the computers, I know what he does. Just understand that digging will only bring pain to you and your family. In here as well as out there." She stood suddenly, turned on her heel, and left.

Arthur felt almost cheated. He had asked her here to ask some questions about Merlin, and now he only had a longer list and barely any answers. Gingerly, he picked up the cloth on the table, _so much for giving it in to the front, _and began walking back into the prison itself where he was greeted by the watchful eyes of the guards, and the hopeful stares of Gwaine and Lance. He shook his head at them and mouthed "later". Gwaine's face fell, but Lance seemed to understand, and turned to leave for the mess hall, dragging the petulant Gwaine with him. Arthur was tempted to laugh, a smile even half-reached his lips, but the need to find Merlin and have a serious conversation stopped him. He had no idea what to expect. Merlin could outright lie to him, or refuse to answer any questions. Arthur just hoped that he could find him, and that the scarf would soften the situation somewhat.


End file.
